Amsterdam, NL

Animal Refuge Centre

The joining of Amsterdam’s two animal refuges led to the creation of the largest animal pound in the Netherlands. A new site was found on the fringes of the city, on a seemingly unusable triangular wedge of land. The “comb model”, usual for this building typology, consists of a long service corridor, serving a series of kennels placed perpendicularly and separated by small outside spaces. However, galleries and fencing dominate this model and the look of it closely resembles a prison.

By merging the service corridor and kennel corridor together, a long, thin ribbon like building was created, winding its way along the waterway around the plot. This created two large play spaces for the animals within.

The building faces inwards in order to reduce excessive noise levels (barking!) for the neighbours. In the high part of the building, the cat accommodation is located above the dog kennels as an extra sound buffer for the outside world. The central position of the entrance lobby determines the final form – a fluid object. Its hide is a pixellated version of the grass on the old dike next to the site.